


Time for Revelations

by Rivermoon1970



Series: Time and Again [10]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst and Humor, Family Secrets, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Male Slash, Non-explicit slash, Revealing the Past, Teasing, audible voyerism, mentions of abuse, painful memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:52:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3216452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivermoon1970/pseuds/Rivermoon1970
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a case in Miami Florida Hotch comes into contact with a homophobic father that reminds him of his own past.  He takes comfort in Spencer's more than willing arms.  The team gets more than they bargained for and Aaron asks Spencer an important question.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hotch's Past Come to Light

**Author's Note:**

> So, part of this fic was inspired by Tifer14's fic _Coming Together in Alaska_. It's a fun smutty Hotch/Reid fic. And Tifer14 if there is too many similarities let me know.

_Now_  
The team was still trading stories with each other when Sasha crawled up in Spencer’s lap and whispered in his ear. He sat back and pulled her in close and nodded his head that it was okay.

She looked at the people in the room, people she knew as family and spoke, so quietly but they could all hear, “I told Daddy one day that I liked Papa’s kind of music. This year for my birthday he took me to the symphony. It was just me and him. Papa made me dress up and said I looked really pretty. Daddy and I sat real close to the orchestra. He didn’t have to tell me to be quiet, I sat and listened and I loved it. After he asked if I liked it and would I want to go again. He was going to take me for Christmas…” She couldn’t say anymore, she buried her head in Spencer’s shoulder and cried. Spencer pulled her in close, stroking his daughter’s hair, soft words falling from his lips. 

No one knew what to say or what to do. A child losing their parent was always one of the hardest parts of their job. Spencer cleared his throat, “Aaron had gotten tickets for us to go to the Kennedy Center for the Cirque de la Symphonie. She’s been so excited…” Spencer’s eyes were wet, but he refused to let the tears fall.

Just then the doorbell rang and Dave got up to answer. It was his caterer bringing in food for everyone. Spencer looked at Dave and whispered, “You didn’t have to do this Dave…”

“Spencer, the last thing you need to worry about right now is feeding us. It’s fine. You just take care of your daughter and we’ll take care of this”. He then directed the caterer’s into the dining area where they laid out pans of lasagna, ravioli, garlic bread, anti-pasta salads, and a couple of trays of salumi and Italian cheeses. Even plates, napkins cups and everything had been accounted for. 

Spencer sat back on the couch and pulled his daughter in closer, letting her cry. She had been holding everything in for so long, refusing to grieve, just like Spencer. Hearing the stories of her Dad and trying to tell one of her own finally made it all real for her. Everyone there felt her grief and they just didn’t know how to help.

Derek came over and sat down next to Spencer and took the little girl in his arms. “Shhh, baby girl, shhh, it’s okay, it’s okay. Your Dad wouldn’t want you to be sad. Come on princess look at me”.

Sasha sat up in Derek’s lap, he brushed a hand over her face wiping her tears. “You know you will always have me, your papa and Jack, don’t you?”

She slowly nodded her tear stained face. She spoke so quietly that Derek almost missed it, but he heard her say, “Its not fair Uncle Derek. Daddy was so brave, why did it have to be him? Why?” Silent tears streamed down her face.

“I don’t know princess. The bad guy didn’t care that he was loved, that he had a beautiful little girl to come home to. He only cared about himself. But you know what?”

She sniffed, trying to stop the tears, laid down on Derek’s chest, her arms wrapped around him, “What?”

“We got the bad guy. He’s never going to hurt another family ever again. He’s never going to take another Daddy away from their little girls. Your Dad helped to make sure that the bad guy is going away forever. Now, I know that doesn’t help you right now, but one day it will. But, you have people who love you princess. If you ever need to talk you can call me. I know what you’re going through sweetheart, believe me, I know”. He pulled her in tight and held her close. Even though Derek had children of his own there was a special place in his heart for Sasha. They’ve had a close relationship ever since she was a baby and no one ever begrudged them their closeness. 

Spencer smiled at the way Derek was with his daughter, he stroked her hair as he got up off the couch and went to try to eat. He stood there looking at the trays of food, grateful for Dave’s thoughtfulness. However, there was this pit in the middle of his stomach that just sat there making him nauseous. 

JJ came over and placed a hand on his arm, “Spence, you need to eat something. You have to keep up your strength”.

Jason stepped up beside him, "She's right you know, you need to keep strong Spencer. Your children are going to need you, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for". Spencer looked at his old mentor then at JJ and she saw the sadness and grief had returned. “I know but I don’t know if I can”.

“Okay, okay. When you’re ready,” She stayed by his side as he tried to nibble on something. “Spence, tell me how to help you?” She looked at her best friend with wide pleading eyes, trying to anticipate what he wanted or needed.

“Jayje, I honestly don’t know. It’s just…it’s so hard. I look around and I keep thinking he should be here, that he should be with us and he’s not. You guys are going to go home soon and I know, I know it will be real”.

JJ was heartbroken hearing Spencer. He had lost so much in his life, so many people left or walked out on him, the one person he could always depend on was gone and she knew he was lost.

“You know before today I could pretend…”

“Pretend what Spence?”

“I could pretend he was just away, away doing a consult or a custodial or visiting Sean, something. Today, today JJ it became real”. He spun away from her and walked towards the living room, picked-up his daughter and his satchel then walked out the door. No one knew where he was going, but no one stopped him, they just hoped he was coming back.  
__________________________________  
 _Then:_

_Hotch: And how were you trying to help him?_

_Father: I’ve been a prison guard for over 20 years so I know a little something about disciplining somebody_

_Rossi: So what, you thought you could beat homosexuality out of him?_

_Father: I don’t like your tone_

_Rossi: Threatening this boy with tactics you use on hardened criminals? Threatening him with his own life?_

_Hotch: [glares and looks off to the side]_

_Father: I was teaching him how to be a man._

_Hotch: No you were teaching him how to kill one_

_Rossi: You convinced him he was worthless, contemptible for being who he was and he believed you, so he found a way to become someone else, anyone else._

_Hotch: [looks at the father with contempt] Steven isn’t missing sir he’s the offender we are looking for._

Aaron was stalking around the hotel room waiting for Spencer to come back. They were still in Miami and the rest of the team wanted to go for Mojito’s and Cuban food. Aaron had said he just wanted to go back to the hotel and call Jack and they all understood. Now, it was three hours later and he was getting upset that Spencer was taking so long. He had even showered, changed into something more comfortable and called Jack before he had to go to sleep. So when a very disheveled and slightly tipsy Spencer finally walked into the room Aaron was just about ready to spring.

All of a sudden Spencer found himself being shoved up against the door and he felt Aaron’s lips crashing down on his, rough hands were trying to get his clothes off of him, lips never leaving his. When he tried to move away Aaron practically growled and Spencer stayed just where he was, taking whatever it was that Aaron was giving him.

Just then Rossi and Morgan were passing by and they heard the bang on their unit chief’s door. Morgan turned to Rossi and said, “I don’t think I wanna know”. 

Rossi looked at Morgan and said, “It’s probably better we don’t”. They both smirked as they made their way to their room.

Lips still locked, Aaron grabbed the now shirtless Spencer, by the waistband of his jeans and pulled him towards the bed. Aaron fumbled at the belt, trying to get it undone. Spencer felt his zipper opening by the time they had gotten to the edge of the bed and Aaron shoved him on top so hard that the headboard banged loudly against the wall. He then forcefully pulled the jeans off of his genius and when he did little piece of paper flew out of the pockets. This made Aaron look down at Spencer with a dark feral look on his face.

“What are those?” He asked with venom dripping out of each word.

“Ummm, phone numbers?” Reid’s eyes wide, still wondering what the hell was going on with Aaron. 

Hotch shed his clothes quickly and pounced onto his lover, taking and possessing the young man with each lick, each nibble and each kiss planted on his neck and shoulders. “Mine,” he said as he bit down on Reid’s shoulder, almost as if the young man was being marked. Spencer yelped loudly while his thoughts and emotions were swirling too fast through his mind to truly register what was going on.

Emily jumped when she felt the bang on the wall in the room next door. Then she heard Hotch distinctly growl loudly the word mine. When JJ finally came into the bedroom from the bathroom she saw her roommate with her ear to the wall and blushing.

“Ems?”

“Oh JJ, you don’t even know. The sounds coming from next door are just…”

JJ frowned, “What?”

“Well, way better than free porn I can tell you that”.

“EMILY,” JJ admonished, but didn’t hesitate to put her ear up against the wall. “We should so not be doing this”.

“Oh I know, believe me I know, but damn if it isn’t hot”. Emily smiled at JJ as they both hunkered down and listened.

All of a sudden they heard a deep moan and a gruff voice saying, “goddamit Spencer, just fuck me”. Then they felt the headboard banging hard against their wall. After a few minutes of some of the most erotic noises either of them have heard in a while they heard their unit chief utter out a string of curses and they knew someone had gotten very lucky.

“Well, I don’t know about you JJ, but my dreams are not going to be nightmares tonight”. Emily smirked.

“I don’t know if I will be able to look them in the face tomorrow”. JJ said to her roommate as her face blushed a deep red.

“We could so get a lot of mileage out of this you know”. Emily replied with a wicked gleam in her eye.

“Don’t you dare Emily Prentiss,” JJ was trying not to smile but it didn’t work and both women started giggling like schoolgirls.

All of a sudden Spencer and Aaron heard the giggling, looked at each other with identical shocked looks on their faces. Spencer, lying next to Aaron, spent said, “Oh crap, who’s next door? JJ and Emily?”

“I think so”.

“What do you think they heard?” Spencer asked warily.

“Probably everything,” Aaron said with a bit of amusement in his voice. He pulled Spencer into him and carded his fingers through the soft curls.

“Aaron?” Spencer asked after a few minutes.

“What?” Hotch said more gruffly than he meant to.

“What exactly was that? Not that I minded, but…”

Aaron looked over at Spencer, closed his eyes and tried to calm the storm still raging inside him. “That father, Steven’s father…” 

“Aaron?”

“The bastard just reminded me of my own father”. He turned his head to the side trying to get back that perfect stoic mask he had developed over the years.

Spencer sat up and looked down at the closed off face of his unit chief. “Aaron, you never talk about it but I’ve noticed over the years that cases with kids or abuse always affect you more. I heard your interview with Perotta, then that case in LA, Caleb Sheppard, the Stripping Bandit…” There had been others, but Spencer wasn’t about to point them out.

Aaron got up, grabbed his shorts and shirt to put on, walked to the mini-bar and pulled out two small bottles of scotch. He poured them into a glass and sat down at the small table in the room.

“You don’t have to tell me…”

Hotch’s office mask was firmly in place when he looked off to the side. He wanted to tell Spencer, but he was finding it difficult. He’d always been a very private man, not even really telling Haley much about his family life. She knew some of it, but he never really elaborated when she asked questions. However, she knew it was telling when he didn’t invite his mother to their wedding. For some reason he wanted to tell Spencer, wanted him to know everything.

“He was always a mean drunk. He liked to use his fists to solve his issues with me. Don’t know if you realize this, but I was a bit of a nerd”. He smiled sadly over at Spencer. “He wanted the perfect son, the jock and I was a bookworm. He blamed my mother, said she was too soft on me. My parent’s marriage wasn’t exactly the best either. I knew he was having affairs”. He got quiet again, finding it difficult to continue.

Spencer got up pulling on his own shirt and shorts, walked over, took the chair in front of Aaron and placed a hand on his leg. “Aaron, can I ask you something? And, if you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to”.

Hotch looked up at Spencer, “What is it?”

Spencer gathered his thoughts together because he wanted to be as delicate as he could. He saw that talking to Aaron right now was much like those times he’s had to interview trauma victims. “How did your father really die?”

Aaron raised his brow when he looked at his lover because this was certainly not the question he had been expecting. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you mentioned once that he had a heart attack but then you’ve also said that he died of cancer. Are you…” Spencer sighed and bowed his head a moment, “Are you embarrassed by how he really died Aaron?”

Aaron suddenly got up off the chair and started pacing, “Sometimes you can be way too perceptive Dr. Spencer Reid”. He didn’t know whether to be angry that Spencer read him so well, or appreciative that he didn’t always have to explain everything. 

“Well, it’s one of the reasons you hired me isn’t it?” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Hotch slowly shook his head and looked at his lover, “It was his alcoholism. It wasn’t just one thing”. Spencer knew at that point that Hotch wasn’t going to elaborate.

“What about…” Spencer wanted to ask about Aaron’s brother, but didn’t know how to ask delicately.

“What about what?”

“Sean?”

“That’s the rub. He never touched Sean. He was the son my father wanted”. Hotch wanted to be angry, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t Sean’s fault that his father was the way he was. “Sean doesn’t know. I’ve never told him what happened to me, he was only five and I was 15 when Dad died. I was shipped off to boarding school and he stayed at home with our mother and later step father. We’ve never really had a close relationship, but I wanted to protect him from my truth. Dad adored him and that is a memory that I won’t taint”.

Spencer stood and walked over to Aaron, stopping the older man in his pacing, placed a hand on his face and kissed him. “Then we will never tell him”. He smiled a small sad smile. 

Aaron pulled Spencer in to his arms and said, “Thank you”. They stood like that for a while, just holding each other as the emotional storm in Aaron started to calm down. “Let’s get some sleep”. He pulled the young man with him as they crawled under the covers and wrapped themselves around each other. Aaron was trying to find the comfort he always found in Spencer’s arms, but he had one more question before they fell asleep.

“Spencer?”

“Yes Aaron?”

“Phone numbers?”

Spencer blushed deeply. He had thought Aaron forgot all about them. He should know by now that even though his boss didn’t have an eidetic memory, he did have an exceptional one. “Um, It was Morgan’s fault”.

Aaron quirked up his brow, “And how was it Morgan’s fault?” He asked playfully angry.

“He got me started doing some magic for JJ and Emily, then we sort of had an audience and things got a little crazy and before I knew it girls and guys were handing me their phone numbers, but it’s not like I was going to….”

“Spencer,”

“Yes?”

“Shut up and go to sleep”. Aaron said with little heat in those words. However he did have a smile on his face because he knew that Spencer didn’t realize just how charming he could be when he let his guard down. And, he knew if he thought about it too hard his jealous streak would come out, and that was certainly not what he wanted. He pulled Spencer in tighter, spooning in behind his young genius and after a while they fell into dreamless sleep.  
_________________________________________________  
In the morning after showering and getting their bags repacked they made their way down to the dining room of the hotel. When they approached they noticed that the rest of the team was having a hard time meeting their eyes.

Hotch looked with amusement at the two female agents. “JJ, Emily, did you have some entertainment last night?” He graced them with a rare smirk as he walked off to get him and Reid some coffee.

“How’d he…I mean…Reid?” Emily was blushing deep red looking over at the youngest agent. 

“You were giggling”. Reid smiled looking rather smug at the two women, completely unembarrassed. 

“Oh…” JJ’s eyes went wide as she realized they could hear her and Emily just as much as they could hear Hotch and Reid.

Before Reid could make a comeback Rossi spoke up, “Before you say anything kid, we don’t want to know”. That got a laugh from everyone at the table, easing the slight tension. 

Hotch came back and slipped the too sweet coffee over to Reid who took an appreciative sip. Hotch looked around sternly and asked without skipping a beat, “What’d I miss?”

Rossi looked at his friend and saw the mischievous glint in Aaron’s eye, “Aaron there are just some things this team does not need to share with each other and last night’s late night activities is one”.

The whole table exploded with laughter. After they all calmed down they made their way to the breakfast bar. They finished their breakfast in companionable conversation and light teasing. Finally, though, they got out of there and were shortly on their way back to DC.  
______________________________________________________  
After landing the team made their way into the bullpen, Garcia was waiting for them as usual with a tray of coffee and some homemade cookies. Whatever they went through, however bad the case was they could always count of the good natured analyst to brighten their day.

After a while Hotch called down to Reid and asked him to come see him. A few minutes later Reid was walking through Hotch’s door and sat down, “You wanted to see me?”

Hotch looked at Reid for a minute, reached into his desk and pulled out the small present he had for Reid.

“Aaron?”

Hotch smiled, “Just open it Spencer”.

Reid was frowning when he opened the box and sitting there was a key and a small card that had “Will you move in with me Spencer?” written on it. Reid looked-up at Aaron with wide eyes and an ever wider smile.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I told you, I don’t just want you in my bed. I want you in my life and in Jack’s life. He already adores you”. 

Spencer wanted to say yes, was going to say yes, but he had one question before he did.

“Aaron?”

Hotch knew just what Spencer was going to ask, “Spencer, if you’re hesitating because of Haley, we’ll tell her, but I’m not going to let her stop what we have together. I love you and want you with me”.

Spencer’s expression softened and his smile widened. He took the key out of box, put it on his own key chain and said, “Yes, Aaron I’ll move in with you”.


	2. Necessary Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conversations that Aaron and Spencer need to have with their loved ones and their boss.

**Haley**

“Spencer, stop fidgeting everything is going to be okay,” Aaron admonished his partner.

“How can you be so calm? I’m far from calm….”

“Reid, get out of your head and just relax, okay?” Hotch used his office voice to try to get through to his lover. Sometimes it was the only way to calm the genius down and make him focus.

“Right, okay,” Reid then reached into his bag and pulled out a book. The only way to truly calm his mind at the moment was to focus on something else. Hotch just looked to the side, smiled and shook his head. If he knew one thing about Dr. Spencer Reid it was that he would have that book halfway finished before they even left the restaurant. He also knew it helped calm him down so Hotch just let him be. That was until Haley walked in with Jack.

“PENCER!” The two year old toddler practically screamed as he tried to run on his chubby legs. Hotch wasn’t even mad that Jack had called out for Spencer before he called out for him.

Spencer looked up and a genuine smile graced his beautiful face, “Hey Jackers, come here buddy”. The little boy ran to the booth, climbed over his Dad and threw his little arms around the smiling Dr. Reid’s neck and held on for dear life. After he got hugs from Reid he turned and looked at Hotch, “Daddy,” And he launched into his father’s arms.

“Hey buddy, I missed you,” Jack sat back and started to tell Hotch all about his day the only way a two-year old could, toddler babble. Aaron, in that mysterious parent way, actually understood about three-fourths of what Jack was saying and responded accordingly. Spencer, on the other hand, only understood about a quarter, but took his cues from Aaron on how to respond to the boy. 

Haley hadn’t ever seen Spencer interact with her son before and she now was wondering just how much time the young man spent with him. And by the way Aaron was watching the genius with a genuine warm smile on his face she realized that it must be quite a bit.

Shortly the waitress brought over a high chair and Aaron got the boy settled into it and only then did he finally acknowledge his ex-wife.

“Haley,” he said slightly stiff. Spencer, still feeling awkward, just waved his hello and smiled.

“Aaron,” Haley wasn’t sure how she was feeling at the moment. She had assumed that this meeting was just between her and Aaron. “How have you been?” There had been a part of her that had hoped she and Aaron might one day get back together, that is if he ever left the BAU, but as this day was proving, that might not be the case at all.

“I’ve been good, and you? How are you doing?” _This shouldn’t be so awkward_ thought Aaron. They’d known each other since High School and had always had an easy friendship, but the strain of the separation, the affairs and the divorce had put stress on the friendship as well.

Haley took a deep breath and schooled her thoughts. She wanted to be careful here and not cause a scene in front of her son and the whole restaurant. “I’ve been fine. I moved back into the house, but of course you knew that,” she said nervously. She took a moment before she asked, “Aaron, what’s going on? Why’d you want to meet like this?”

Aaron looked down at the table and gathered his thoughts for a moment. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy for her to hear, but he didn’t want her to be surprised. “Haley…” He lifted his eyes to look her in the face, “Spencer is moving in with me”. He waited to see her reaction and when he didn’t get one his profiler’s mind started to run amok.

Haley knew her ex-husband well enough to know what he was doing, “Aaron, for god sakes turn it off for once. Don’t profile me”. She said in exasperation. Then she turned her head and looked at the expression on Spencer’s face and said, “Or you. I’m not one of your damn unsubs”. 

The two men schooled their expressions because they both wanted to laugh at the ridiculous situation.

“So, I take it you’re not giving me any choice here are you?”

Aaron looked at her confused. There were no choices to be made. He responded to her question in his quiet measured voice, “Haley, there are no choices. Spencer and I are moving in together and I want Jack….”

She put her hand up stopping him, “Really Aaron? You think that after all you’ve done that I’m just going to let you…”

A dark look passed over Aaron’s face and Haley realized she had gone too far. Not only was her ex-husband a profiler, but he was a well-versed lawyer as well. “Haley I wasn’t the only one to make mistakes. Do you really want me to bring up the string of strange phone calls over the last few months of our marriage?” He saw that his words hit their bull’s-eye. Gideon was right, an accurate profile can be a weapon in the right hands, and right now Aaron had hit the bullseye. He didn’t feel good about it, but he wasn’t here to play games.

“Aaron…”

He cut her off before she could say more, “And don’t you dare use Jack against me”. His hard stoic demeanor was in place and Haley knew that she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“So, how long was it Dr. Reid before you jumped back in my ex-husband’s bed?” She asked vehemently. She was on edge because she wasn’t sure how she lost control of this conversation before it even began.

Aaron saw when Spencer’s back went up and he knew that the young man had been backed into a corner and usually that was when Spencer was at his most dangerous. He put a hand on the Spencer’s arm to still the tirade he was about to unleash.

“Haley, let’s not do this. I understand you’re angry and hurt, but this is happening and I will have my son in our lives. Now, if this is something you can’t handle fine, but don’t you dare try to keep Jack away from me. And as for how long, does it really matter?” Aaron kept his composure the whole time. He didn’t want this to become a yelling match, especially in such a public place.

Haley knew she was just lashing out in anger. She wouldn’t really use Jack against her ex-husband because she knew what a good father he really was. He may not be there as much as he wanted, but he always called to see how Jack was doing, came by to check on him, even on days that weren’t his. She didn’t want to be one of those vindictive mothers that used their children to hurt their exes. In truth she could never do that to Aaron. She closed her eyes a moment to reign in her feelings.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that...” She was having a hard time expressing the flood of emotions she was feeling. “You sprung this on me and I just need time to process it”. 

Just then the waitress came up to the table and asked if they were ready to order. Spencer and Aaron just ordered coffee and one of their large cinnamon rolls. Haley just ordered coffee, she wasn’t sure she could eat anything at the moment.

She watched as Aaron and Spencer shared the sweet bread with Jack and she saw the deep affection that Spencer really had for her son. She wanted to be jealous, wanted to be angry and truthfully a part of her was, but she knew if she hurt Aaron and Spencer, she’d be hurting her son too, and that she could never do.

She took a deep breath, “Fine, we’ll work this out…for Jack”. She wanted to make it very clear that she was going to try to understand for the sake of their son.

“For Jack,” Aaron reciprocated knowing what it had probably cost his ex-wife to concede. Aaron and Spencer left a few minutes later, taking Jack with them, for it was Aaron’s time after all. She sat there watching the easy affection between the three and realized what it was that she had lost. She wanted to put the blame all on Aaron, but truthfully, she’d always known his ambitious nature. She had fooled herself into thinking that if he had a family he would change, and that was her biggest mistake. She left a few minutes later and went home to an empty house and cried.  
_______________________________________________________________  
 **STRAUSS**

“Aaron is this really necessary? I mean, it’s Chief Strauss. I always get the feeling she doesn’t like me”.

Aaron chuckled under his breath, “Yes it is. You are putting in a change of address , so she’s eventually going to know. It will be fine Spencer, and remember if we have any problems John told us to call him”.

It had been several months prior that Spencer and Aaron had run into the Deputy Director of the FBI and gotten his ultimate okay. Spencer didn’t forget that, it’s just that he didn’t want to have to use it against their boss.

Aaron knocked on Chief Stauss’s office door, “Come in,” They heard from inside the office. Aaron looked at Reid with raised brows asking if he was ready.

“Let’s get it over with”. 

They walked in and saw their boss Section Chief Erin Strauss sitting at her desk going over reports.

“Agent Hotchner, Dr. Reid, what can I do for the two of you?”

“Chief Strauss, there is something of a personal nature we need to discuss with you”. Aaron began.

“Are you referring to the change of address that Dr. Reid has just put in?”

“Yes ma’am”.

“Aaron, Dr. Reid, please sit down”. It didn’t go unnoticed that she addressed Aaron by his first name but called Spencer Dr. Reid. Spencer just didn’t know what it meant. She took off her glasses, laid them on the desk, leaned forward and said, “Don’t worry, the Deputy Director has already spoken to me recently about your relationship”.

Aaron gave her his famous Hotchner glare, “Erin?”

She smiled at him, “Aaron, I’m not stupid. I’ve noticed how the two of you have gotten closer,” She held up her hand stopping whatever it was that Aaron was going to say, “I’ve also noticed that the two of you have displayed nothing but absolute professionalism and integrity here in the office and in the field. Keep it that way and we won’t have to have any further discussions. Do I make myself clear?”

Aaron furrowed his brow, “Ma’am?” There were a lot of questions in just that one word, but Aaron was having a hard time expressing them.

She slightly smirked, “Aaron, David Rossi wasn’t the only person around here that caused the current fraternization rules to be put in place”. She gave them a knowing look and they understood just what she was talking about. “Just keep it at home and we should have no problems, understand?”

They both looked at her dumfounded, but said at the same time, “Yes ma’am”. They got up and left to go to their workstations and get ahead of the day.  
______________________________________________  
 **Dr. Diana Reid**

The team had been in Reno Nevada on a serial arson case. Everything was progressing quickly and when the last fire turned deadly they worked even harder to track their unsub. It took a few days, and unfortunately more fires, but they finally caught him. 19 years old and already a murderer, it saddened the team that someone so young had done such horrible things, but they had hope that he would find help in prison. While in the hotel Reid was contemplating taking a commercial plane to Las Vegas. It wasn’t that far and he wanted to see his mother.

“Hey Aaron?”

Aaron looked up from the files that he was working on, hoping to get them done so they could have some time with Jack when they got back. “Yes Spencer?”

“I’d like to take a couple of days and go see my Mom, if that’s okay”.

“Of course, when do you want to go?”

“I can get a flight out in the morning. I ah, I want to tell her…about us that is”.

Aaron put the file down and studied Spencer for a moment. “Do you want me to go with you Spencer?”

Spencer breathed a sigh of relief, that was exactly what he wanted, but he hadn’t known how to ask Aaron, “Yes, but only if you want to…”

“Spencer, of course I want to”. Spencer smiled, but was nervous at the same time. 

“Thanks Aaron. When we get there I’ll have to talk to her doctor to make sure she’s doing okay”.

“Spencer, I understand. You just let me know what you need me to do”. He smiled at Spencer letting him know he was there for him.

The arrangements were quickly made and both had packed to make leaving quick and easy. Both men were tired from the long case and they just wanted to get some sleep.  
Aaron pulled the young genius to him and carded his hand through the long curly hair and spoke soft words to Spencer. He knew that Spencer’s anxiety was high and it sometimes made the nights difficult for both of them. Nightmares were not uncommon, but they had each other. Aaron, not for the first time, thought how different this was from Haley. Spencer never got mad or complained when he woke up in a sweat, or cried out in his sleep and when memories of Georgia invaded Spencer’s dreams Aaron was right there, holding him and soothing the terror away. They may not always get the deep sleep they often craved, but the nights weren’t as bad as they used to be either. 

In the morning they made it to the airport quickly and were in Las Vegas just over two hours later. A rental car was ready and waiting for them when they arrived and it didn’t take long for them to make it over to Bennington Sanitarium. Spencer asked Aaron to wait in the waiting room so he could talk to her doctor and make sure Diana Reid was up for visitors.

Spencer took some time to consult with Dr. Norman, his mother’s psychiatrist. Spencer got the all clear, Diana was having one of her better days so they decided to chance it and Spencer brought Aaron up to his mother’s room.

“Mom?”

She smiled wide, as always, seeing her son, “Spencer. I didn’t know you were coming. And I see you brought a friend”.

“Mom, this is Aaron Hotchner. Do you...do you remember him from a couple of years ago? When you helped us out?”

“Oh, oh that poor man, Randall, he was very delusional”. She looked up at Aaron and narrowed her eyes slightly, “You’re that government agent, aren’t you?”

Spencer sat down on the small couch in her room and took her hand. Aaron had grabbed the chair from the desk and sat next to Spencer. “Mom, I want you to listen carefully, okay?”

“Spencer, is something wrong? Because you seem a little anxious”. 

Spencer smiled and bowed his head slightly, “Mom,” He breathed in deep looked at Aaron for a minute then continued, “Mom, Aaron and I are together”.

Diana didn’t say anything for a minute, she looked at Aaron, “You better not hurt him mister government agent”. She stared at Aaron and waited to see what he would say.

“Ma’am…”

She quirked up her brow, “Ohh Spencer, he’s so polite”. The two men had a chuckle at that.

Aaron tried to hold back a laugh, “Ma’am, I never want to hurt Spencer. I love him very much”. He then grabbed Spencer’s hand and held on.

“My perfect boy, are you happy?”

Spencer’s face softened, “Yes Mom, I am very happy”.

She turned to look at the older man, “Do you have children Aaron?”

Aaron smiled wide thinking about Jack, “Yes ma’am I have a son. His name is Jack and he adores Spencer”.

“I read to him just like you used to read to me,” Which made Diana’s heart melt.

“Then I am happy for you Spencer. And even though he’s obviously a government spy, if he makes you happy, then I can’t complain”. She reached over and patted Aaron’s hand and said to him, “I guess I approve”. And they could tell that she was being playful at this point.

“Thank you Dr. Reid…”

“Please, you’re dating my son call me Diana”.

“Diana,” He conceded, “I will take care of Spencer, I promise”.

“You’re mother must be very proud of you Aaron,” She saw the pain come into his eyes and knew something terrible had happened to him. She leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek, “No mother should hurt their child,” She had whispered in his ear. He looked at her confused and all she said was, “A mother always knows”. The warmth in her eyes made him tear up, but he refused to let them fall.

They spent the rest of the afternoon with Diana and had lunch with her. When it got late they went to a nearby hotel to rest. Spencer spent the next day with her while Aaron caught-up on paperwork. They left the next day and Spencer was quite happy how everything turned out.  
___________________________________________________________________________________  
 **Sean**

“You ready to go Spencer?” Aaron called out.

“Yeah, I’ll be out in one second”. Spencer yelled, less than a minute later he walked out with a small suitcase in his hand.

Aaron smiled as he pulled the young agent to him and kissed him, “Hmmmm, maybe we should cancel and just stay here. I’ll keep you naked in bed and all to myself this weekend”. He kissed his lover again.

Spencer pulled away, “You’re the one that wanted to get away, always telling me to take a vacation. Now, we are committed Aaron”.

“Yes, we are. Okay, come on or we’ll miss the train”. Aaron was finally going to take Spencer to New York on a mini weekend vacation. They got a rare Friday off and Aaron had surprised Spencer with the trip. He knew that Spencer loved trains and he booked them on the earliest available. Aaron had also gotten a hold of his brother Sean and gotten them a reservation at the restaurant he was working at. What Aaron didn’t tell his brother was that he was bringing a man with him. This should be interesting thought Aaron.

They got to New York and then their hotel in a little over 5 hours. Spencer had thoroughly enjoyed the ride all the way there and Aaron smiled at how enthusiastic Spencer was. He loved how his lover would spout off random facts about trains, or the cities they passed through, the local flora and fauna or, god forbid, the crime rates. Aaron was quiet, but would answer a question or respond to Spencer’s ramblings every so often. When they finally arrived Aaron just had to pull Spencer aside and give him a passionate kiss, “I love you, my beautiful genius”.

Spencer smiled and they held hands the whole way to the hotel. After settling in Aaron took Spencer site seeing through the city. He smiled the whole time watching Spencer be in awe of the city. They had hot dogs from one of the city’s famous street vendors, later a slice at one of the many famous Ray’s pizzerias, and they both indulged their coffee addictions. By the late afternoon they were tired and wanted to rest-up before dinner. 

“So, Spencer, I have a surprise for you. Sean has a table reservation for us at the restaurant he works at”.

“Really? I haven’t even asked about Sean, I’m so sorry Aaron”.

Aaron quirked-up a brow, “It’s okay Spencer, Sean and I are trying to reconnect. Mostly sporadic phone calls, but we’re trying. Just one thing I ask…”

“Aaron, I told you in Miami, I won’t ever tell Sean what we discussed. If you ever feel like he could handle that I’m sure it should come from you and not me”.

“Thank you. Alright, let’s get changed and get out of here”. 

They arrived at the restaurant about fifteen minutes early for their reservation and Sean came out to greet his brother and his brother’s ‘date’. Aaron wouldn’t say who he was bringing so it came as a surprise when he saw another man talking to Aaron.

“Aaron,” He smiled warmly and the two brothers hugged. They may not have been as close as either man would have liked, but they did love each other and they were trying. “How’s it going big brother?”

Aaron smiled warmly, “It’s going great. Sean I want you to meet Dr. Spencer Reid. Spencer this is my brother Sean”. The two men shook hands.

“So, Aaron, who’s the lucky person in your life that has you smiling,” Sean had an idea, but he wanted Aaron to say it.

“Sean, it’s Spencer, he actually moved in with me a couple of months ago”.

Sean stood there shocked. It’s not that he thought there was anything wrong with Aaron with another man, its that it was Aaron with another man. His brother was so indoctrinated in his upbringing that it was hard for him to break those barriers. This was a whole new side of his brother and Sean liked it.

“Well, Aaron, I have to say that I am completely shocked,” He took a deep breath and noticed that Spencer’s back went up and Aaron was on his guard, “Whoa, calm down you two. I’m shocked because for the second time in your life you are finally doing what you want and not what’s predictable”. He smiled wide, and the couple watched as Sean walked over to the bar tender, wait a couple of minutes and walked back with two glasses of champagne.

“With my compliments and congratulations,” The couple took the glasses and sipped the bubbly liquid as Sean toasted them.

“So, you are okay with this Sean?”

Sean’s face softened and he noticed just how vulnerable his brother looked at that moment. It was rare for Aaron to let down his walls, but he saw how important this was to his older brother. He honestly didn’t care and he could see a happiness that he never truly saw when his brother was with Haley. 

“Aaron, I am more than okay with this. I don’t care what gender you date or fall in love with, what I care about is if you’re happy”.

Aaron was moved. He was surprised by how much it meant to him that Sean accept Spencer as his partner. He hoped that this was another step in them re-connecting. “Thank you Sean, that means a lot”. He got up off his chair and grabbed his younger brother in a tight hug, a rare display of affection for Aaron.

“So, have you told Mom?” Sean hadn’t wanted to spoil the moment, but he wanted to be prepared just in case their Mother called and asked about Aaron.

Aaron tried not to shut down, he didn’t want to spoil the evening before it really began, “No Sean I haven’t, please don’t mention it. I just…” Aaron cleared his throat to tamp down the emotional upheaval attached to memories of his parents and his childhood, “I don’t want to have to deal with that yet”.

Sean slightly frowned. He knew their Mother wasn’t the overly affectionate kind, but he knew that Aaron’s pain when it came to their parents went deep. He just wished that Aaron would open up and tell him. He wasn’t stupid, he knew something happened to Aaron, but Sean also knew the protective streak that Aaron had. Whatever Aaron’s secret was Sean knew Aaron was trying to protect him. 

“Okay big brother, I won’t say anything”. And he left it at that, “Okay, now I need to get back to work, and if you’ll trust me and let me surprise the two of you for your meal I promise you won’t regret it”. And they didn’t. Sean prepared them a fantastic meal. They ate at their leisure with Sean coming to check on them every so often. When the evening was coming to it’s end Aaron pulled out his wallet and Sean stopped him.

“This is on me Aaron…”

“Sean, you don’t have to…”

“I want to. Now go have fun the rest of the evening and I’ll talk to you later”. They hugged and Sean whispered, “I couldn’t be happier for you Aaron”. He smiled and walked back to the kitchen.

They got back to the hotel and they couldn’t take it anymore, before either of them knew it they were naked and fell to the bed kissing and touching. They made love slowly and passionately holding each other and whispering soft words of love. Afterwards Spencer pulled Aaron to him for a change and held him all night. He knew how emotional the evening had been for his lover and Spencer just wanted to comfort Aaron. When morning came they were both feeling happy and rested.

They spent another wonderful day in New York and met Sean for lunch. They laughed and talked and Spencer was happy to see the brother re-connecting in a healthy way. It had been a rare wonderful weekend and they were lucky no calls came through to cut their time short. By the time they got back home they were rested and happy. 

But it didn’t last long because duty always called and the unsubs never stopped, but it was with lighter hearts that they returned to work the following Monday. Someday they hoped to find that peace again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER ALERT****SPOILER ALERT
> 
> So, after the episode Nelson't Sparrow (which had me bawling BTW) I need to make a choice and I wanted to see what you guys think. Since Jason has been killed it has now made this AU, but I really was trying to keep Time and Again fairly canon. It also means that when I get to season 10 i'd have to ignore the episode, which I just couldn't do. So, my question is do I go back and change the bits with Jason in it, or just not do anymore with him, or maybe something like Spencer was seeing him in his grief and he wasn't actually there?. And, if I do go back and re-write, who should be the one with Spencer in the beginning? Rossi, JJ, Morgan, Ethan or Garcia? Let me know what you guys think. I am in quite a quandry here. It would make great emotional impact when I get to season 10 and I feel like I just can't ignore it, but it does change a few things.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic ends Season three. I have already in mind Mayhem, Memoriam, Omnivore and Amplification for season 4. If there is another episode you'd like to see me do I am more than willing. Season 4 and 5 had so many fantastic episodes, I had a hard time narrowing it down, but I will do more if you guys want me to.


End file.
